Photorefractive device containing a chromophore-doped polymer layer and its manufacturing method

Abstract

A photorefractive device ( 100 ) and method of manufacture are disclosed. The device ( 100 ) comprises a layered structure, in which one or more chromophore-doped polymer layers ( 110 ) are interposed between a photorefractive material ( 106 ) and one or more electrode layers ( 104 ). The layered structure can also be interposed between a plurality of substrates ( 102 ). In some embodiments, the device ( 100 ) exhibits a decreased decay time when applying the biased voltage. Concurrently, the device ( 100 ) of the present disclosure utilizes approximately half the bias voltage, advantageously resulting in a longer device life time.

1 . A photorefractive device comprising:
 one or more electrode layers;   a layer that comprises a photorefractive material; and   one or more polymer layers interposed between the one or more electrode layers and the photorefractive material, wherein the one or more polymer layers is doped with one or more chromophores, and wherein the one or more chromophore-doped polymer layers is non-photorefractive.   
     
     
         2 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the photorefractive device exhibits a decreased grating decay time relative to a second photorefractive device having polymer layers that are not doped with chromophores, wherein the grating decay time is determined using a 532 nm laser beam. 
     
     
         3 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the photorefractive device exhibits a decreased grating response time relative to a second photorefractive device having polymer layers that are not doped with chromophores, wherein the grating response time is determined using a 532 nm laser beam. 
     
     
         4 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more chromophore-doped polymer layers comprise a polymer selected from the group consisting of polymethyl methacrylate, polyimide, amorphous polycarbonate, and siloxane sol-gel. 
     
     
         5 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more chromophore-doped polymer layers comprise a chromophore selected from the group consisting of 4-homopiperidino-2-fluorobenzylidene malononitrile, 1-hexamethyleneimine-4-nitrobenzene, methyl 3-(4-(azepan-1-yl)phenyl)acrylate, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The photorefractive device of  claim 2 , wherein the photorefractive device exhibits a grating decay time of about 130 seconds or less. 
     
     
         7 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more chromophore-doped polymer layers have a total combined thickness of about 2 μm to about 40 μm. 
     
     
         8 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more chromophore-doped polymer layers have a total combined thickness of about 10 μm to about 20 μm. 
     
     
         9 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more electrode layers comprise a conducting film independently selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, metals, and organic films, wherein the conducting film has an optical density of about 0.2 or less. 
     
     
         10 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , wherein the photorefractive material comprises polymers or inorganic substances, and wherein the photorefractive material has a refractive index of about 1.7. 
     
     
         11 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , further comprising a substrate on one side of the first electrode layer and the chromophore-doped polymer layer on the other side of the first electrode layer, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of soda lime glass, silica glass, borosilicate glass, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, sapphire, quartz glass, polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate. 
     
     
         12 . The photorefractive device of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer disposed on opposite sides of the photorefractive material;   a first chromophore-doped polymer layer interposed between the first electrode layer and the photorefractive material; and   a second chromophore-doped polymer layer interposed between the second electrode layer and the photorefractive material.   
     
     
         13 . The photorefractive device of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a first substrate disposed on a side of the first electrode layer opposite the photorefractive material; and   a second substrate disposed on a side of the second electrode layer opposite the photorefractive material,   wherein the first substrate and the second substrate each independently comprise a material selected from the group consisting of soda lime glass, silica glass, borosilicate glass, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, sapphire, quartz glass, polyethylene terephthalate, and polycarbonate.   
     
     
         14 . The photorefractive device of  claim 13 , wherein both the first substrate and the second substrate exhibit an index of refraction of about 1.5 or less. 
     
     
         15 . A method for fabricating a photorefractive device, comprising interposing a first chromophore-doped polymer layer between a first electrode layer and a photorefractive material, wherein the first chromophore-doped polymer layers is non-photorefractive. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising interposing a second chromophore-doped polymer layer between a second electrode layer and the photorefractive material, wherein the second chromophore-doped polymer layers is non-photorefractive, and wherein the photorefractive device has the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer on opposite sides of the photorefractive material. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 applying a mixture to the first electrode layer, wherein said mixture comprises a chromophore and a polymer dispersed in a solvent; and   removing the solvent from the applied mixture to form the first chromophore-doped polymer layer on the first electrode layer.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the mixture is prepared by a process comprising:
 substantially dissolving about 10% to 45% by weight of the polymer in the solvent to obtain a polymer solution; and   intermixing about 0.1 to about 10 parts by weight of the chromophore relative to 100 parts of the total polymer and chromophore into the polymer solution to obtain the mixture.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the chromophore is selected from the group consisting of 4-homopiperidino-2-fluorobenzylidene malononitrile, 1-hexamethyleneimine-4-nitrobenzene, methyl 3-(4-(azepan-1-yl)phenyl)acrylate, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the polymer is amorphous polycarbonate (APC).